All Wrapped Up
by Charlene Edwards
Summary: Dick trys to get ready for Christmas


Title: All Wrapped Up Author: Charlene Edwards Rating: G Synopsis: Dick and the day before Christmas Eve ... that should be enough LOL Disclaimer: DC owns them but I asked them to give me Dick for Christmas. Thanks to Patty and Noel and Sarah. :-) I hope you all enjoy and have a Merry Christmas. Char :-)  
  
All Wrapped Up:  
  
Whistling 'Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer', Dick Grayson entered his apartment building a happy man. He had survived the mall. The throngs of people had not deterred him from finishing his shopping. Dick had even made a list and followed it this year. He hadn't forgotten anyone he needed to buy for, and for once he was very happy to be a billionaire's son. He had spent more in a day than he made in a month. Usually, he was good at budgeting and living within the means of what he earned, saving his "rainy day money" for his nightly activities, but Dick had never learned how to budget Christmas. He had inherited Bruce's extravagance. It was a disease. When he heard Christmas music at the Mall he had to buy things. Subliminal messages, that what it was. Next year he was wearing earplugs.  
  
A sense of relief swept over him as he opened his apartment door and entered his safe haven. Dick walked to the sofa dropping bags of unbreakables as he went. Then he set out the rest of his packages on the sofa. Dick moved to his CD player and threw in his favorite Christmas CD as he headed toward his closets. Dragging even more packages from his closets, he marveled at how he had managed to cram so much stuff in such a small space.  
  
Dick Grayson sighed as he looked at his kitchen table. His eyes moved to his countertops and then out into his living room. It was a very good thing that Christmas was two days away. Any longer and Dick would be forced from his apartment by the attack of the rabbit breeding presents. Unwrapped presents. Many, many unwrapped presents.  
  
He was Nightwing, scourge of the Bludhaven underworld, Squire to the Dark Knight, he could do this. He could get his presents wrapped before Christmas. He could do this. He just needed a plan. He needed ... back-up.  
  
Smiling, Dick started searching his apartment. He knew his phone was ... somewhere. Most likely under some gift or another. Standing in the middle of his present laden living room, he scratched the back of his neck. Well, who needed a phone? Swiftly, he moved to his desktop and opened his connection to the all-seeing all-knowing Oracle also known as his girlfriend and first choice in back-up wrapper.  
  
"Hi, Honey. Are you busy right now?" Dick asked as her face came on the screen.  
  
Barbara removed her glasses from her face, placed them on the inch high stack of papers at her fingertips, and looked him squarely in the eye. "NO. I do NOT have time to wrap your presents."  
  
"I hadn't asked," Dick said as he moved his chair slightly back from the desk at her retort.  
  
"You were about to."  
  
"Well, yeah! But I hadn't asked YET!"  
  
Dick watched as the screen turned black as Barbara abruptly closed the connection. Dick's mouth made a perfect 'O' as it gaped open. He stuck his tongue into his cheek poking it out and then let out a sigh. He stood up from the computer desk and turned around.  
  
He faced the presents. AGAIN. They had multiplied. He was sure of it.  
  
He could wrap them. He would wrap them. Other people wrapped their own presents, and he could too. It wasn't like he was ... Bruce. He was a perfectly normal young man. He held down a regular job and he handled his ... extracurricular nightly duties as well. Dick Grayson was Nightwing, the protector of Bludhaven, leader of the Titans. He wasn't going to be defeated by a growing mountain of Christmas presents.  
  
Dick marched defiantly toward the kitchen grabbing a roll of Christmas paper as he went. Slinging it under his arm, he searched through his cupboards for a pair of scissors and tape. Finding all of the essentials, he moved to his table. Quickly, he moved the shopping bags to the floor and sat down. He reached in the nearest bag and pulled out an oddly shaped box.  
  
Laying the box on the paper, he started trying to size the box. The pentagon shape wasn't making it easy. "Why make a five-sided box?" Dick muttered as he attempted to figure out the particulars of wrapping. As Dick turned to grab the tape, his knee hit the table causing the paper roll to roll off the table, stretching paper across his small kitchen. Sighing, Dick stood up to retrieve the errant Christmas paper, but stumbled over a bag of presents and tumbled downward. It was his years of practice that kept him from falling flat on his face, but the Christmas paper wasn't as lucky. He tossed the now shredded paper into the air and sighed.  
  
"I need the phone." Dick stood and started a search for his cordless phone. He made a mental note to buy a wall phone next time he went to the mall ... which would be AFTER Christmas. WAY after Christmas. Dick had spent the better part of an hour combing through his littered apartment when he finally found the phone ... in the vegetable bin of his refrigerator. Tim had to have done that, he knew he couldn't have done THAT.  
  
Dick hit '02' on his speed dial and waited patiently for that all too familiar voice to answer.  
  
"Wayne Manor."  
  
Dick smiled at Alfred's clipped British tones. That voice always made him smile. "Hi Al, it's Dick.  
  
Alfred sighed ever so slightly. "Yes, Master Dick?"  
  
Dick continued, "I was wondering ... do you think you have some time to --"  
  
"Absolutely not Master Dick. What do I tell you every year?"  
  
Dick rolled his eyes. "That if a present's from me, that mean it has to be FROM me and that means I have to wrap it. I know, BUT it was worth a try."  
  
"It was an admirable effort Sir. As always. Good night.  
  
*Click*  
  
"Alfred?" Dick said startled as he heard the dial tone in his ear. He leaned against the counter and looked at the pile of presents. Yes, they were definitely growing in number. He wouldn't be deterred from his mission. Hitting '03' on his speed dial he waited for Tim to answer.  
  
"Hello."  
  
"Hey bro!"  
  
"No."  
  
"What? I didn't say anything!"  
  
"It's the day before Christmas Eve."  
  
Dick was waving his free arm about in the kitchen as he continued to talk. "AND that means I'm calling to ask you something? Can't I just be calling to you know say Happy day before Christmas Eve?"  
  
Tim sighed. "Okay ... Happy day before Christmas Eve."  
  
Dick smiled a very wide smile. "Thanks bro. Hey, while we're talking about Christmas, you wouldn't happen to have some time to come over and help me wrap presents would ya?"  
  
"I knew it!"  
  
*Click*  
  
"Tim? Tim!" Dick looked at phone. "He hung up on me. I can't believe he actually hung up on me."  
  
Dick scrunched up his mouth as he thought. Who else did he know who could help? He pulled his address book out and started thumbing through the pages. Plenty of people who knew how to save the world, but not any in the same state who could wrap presents or who hadn't already hung up on him. With a defeated sigh he started to place the phone on the counter and head back to the table. Sure, he could call Wally and Wally would come, but Wally was more hopeless than he was about this kind of stuff, that's why Wally always gave gift certificates. There was merit to that idea now that he thought about it.  
  
Then his eyes lit up. As if a light bulb, a Christmas twinkling light, had gone off in his head. He jerked the phone back up and pounded out the number.  
  
"Hello."  
  
Silently Dick mouthed 'YES' when he heard her voice. Then he started talking. "AMY! Hey are you busy partner?"  
  
"It's Christmas!! I've got kids ... what'd you think?"  
  
Dick closed his eyes in an attempt to make the mounting presents disappear. "Amy, I'm desperate. I gotta find someone to wrap my Christmas presents," he whined.  
  
"Geez, grow up!! Buy BAGS!!!"  
  
"Bags?!"  
  
*Click*  
  
"Uh ... thanks ... uh ... never mind," he said as the dial tone rang out in his ear and he hung up the phone. "Bags. Why didn't I think of that? That's easy. Shove it in and throw tissue on that. Even I could do that. Even Bruce could do that." He stopped. "Ok, maybe not Bruce. BUT I can do that."  
  
It was a perfect plan. Well, there was one little problem. He didn't have any bags, but that would be simple, he'd simple go out and buy bags--  
  
Then reality hit.  
  
"AWWWWWWWWW MANNNNNN, I gotta go back to the mall!"  
  
THE END 


End file.
